1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a vehicle storage compartment and divider assembly, and more particularly to a vehicle cupholder assembly having a one-piece cupholder base in which is mounted a pair of flexible invertible dividers that allow for the secure retention of various sized beverage containers.
2. Description of the Related Art
The prior art includes a variety of cupholders or container holders which are used for supporting cups, cans, or other beverage containers in vehicles which are selectively accessible to the vehicle passengers or occupants.
Some such cupholder devices include adjustability features for holding containers of various sizes. However, such adjustable cupholders generally require a number of components be assembled to provide this adjustability. In addition, some so these devises require the use of adjustable cupholder arms. Several of these prior art cupholders also requires that the cupholder arms be manually collapsed fully before they can be adjusted outward to receive a larger container. This may be inconvenient or awkward for a vehicle occupant, particularly the driver.
Other cupholders have pre-sized molded beverage container openings which do not allow for the secure holding of smaller sized beverage containers or use with beverage containers larger than the pre-sized openings.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,659 issued Aug. 9, 1977 to Arnold teaches a food tray mountable in a vehicle and capable of holding a beverage container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,764 issued Nov. 29, 1983 to Marcus et al teaches an armrest mounted container holder having a structure which supports two or more beverage containers in the armrest area of a vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,488 issued Jun. 6, 1989 to Ross teaches a coaster with an adjustable means for retaining a beverage container using a hook and shock cord.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,733 issued Oct. 8, 1991 to Shields teaches a single opening beverage container holder having multiple flexible members to secure a beverage container therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,146 issued Jul. 19, 1994 to Spykerman teaches an articulating cup holder utilizing multiple parts and pivot pins to achieve the articulating function.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,579 issued Jan. 6, 1998 to Celentino et al teaches the use of multiple magnets to hold a drink container in a cup holder.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,307 issued Jun. 9, 1998 to Patmore teaches a cup holder using multiple pieces and pivot pins to allow articulation.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an adjustable vehicle cupholder structure for firmly securing containers of various sizes, and which does not require the assembly of a plurality of moving parts or removable parts to form the cupholder units.